Clinton, Trump battling for Ohio at start of final campaign stretch

Washington, (IANS) US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday were in Ohio, one of the key states in the presidential election, on the day traditionally considered to be the start of the final stretch of the campaign culminating in the November 8 vote.

The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees are campaigning in the populous Midwestern state on Labor Day just two months before voters go to the polls, EFE news reported.

Clinton, who spent a good part of August focusing on private fundraising events with few public appearances, was scheduled to appear along with her running mate, Tim Kaine, at a Labor Day celebration in Cleveland.

The former Secretary of State, who has been criticised in the media and by the GOP for not having given a single press conference all year, also on Monday tried out a new jet in which she will travel along with journalists accredited to follow her around the country. Previously, Clinton and the reporters had travelled separately.

Trump, meanwhile, participated in a round table with union members in Cleveland and was scheduled to campaign later in the Ohio city of Youngstown.

No Republican candidate has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, and right now Trump is slightly behind Clinton there with 40.7 per cent of the prospective votes to her 44 per cent, according to the Real Clear Politics Web site, based on voter surveys.

US Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, campaigned along with Kaine on Monday morning in Pittsburgh, with Pennsylvania being another crucial state in the presidential contest.